Palestinian football chief rejects photo with Israeli official at Fifa Congress

VANCOUVER: Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub declined to join a photo opportunity with Israeli football official Basim Sheikh Suliman at the close of Fifa’s Congress on Thursday, in a tense moment following addresses by both men to delegates.

After Rajoub and Suliman had spoken, Fifa President Gianni Infantino invited them to stand with him for a photograph. Rajoub, however, did not accept the gesture and resisted repeated efforts by Infantino to persuade him to take part.

At one stage during the exchange, Rajoub could be heard saying: We are suffering.

Dispute over Fifa action

The incident came amid an ongoing dispute involving the Palestinian Football Association’s challenge to Fifa’s position on Israeli clubs based in the occupied West Bank. The PFA has recently taken the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after Fifa declined to impose sanctions on Israel over the issue.

The Palestinian body argues that clubs located in West Bank settlements should not be permitted to play in competitions run by Israeli football authorities.

In 2024, United Nations experts said that at least eight football clubs had been identified as playing in Israeli colonial settlements. They also urged Fifa to fulfil its responsibility to respect human rights.

Rajoub’s remarks to reporters

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rajoub urged Fifa to apply the statutes with fairness, with logic.

He said, What's going on in Palestine is terrible, destroying all the Palestinian sport facilities in Gaza, the killings of hundreds of Palestinian athletes, employees... I think it's now the time to make justice.

Rajoub also criticised the remarks made by the Israeli representative, saying, The guy who spoke on behalf of Israel, he did not even pay attention to the suffering, to what's going on.

Explaining why he refused the gesture at the end of the Congress, Rajoub said, I refused to shake hands. How can I shake hands or have a photo with such a man?

The exchange underscored the sharp tensions surrounding the issue at the Fifa gathering, where the Palestinian side continued to press its case over settlement-based clubs and the broader impact of the conflict on Palestinian sport.